At his request there came a force of Basternae, a thousand horse and ten thousand light troops who fought with them, all mercenary soldiers—men who knew nothing of tilling the soil, or of sailing the sea, who did not live from the produce of their flocks, but who studied one art and business solely, ever to fight and overcome their antagonists.
— from Plutarch's Lives, Volume 1 (of 4) by Plutarch

On the morrow, having meanwhile revolved in himself many and divers devices, he betook himself, after eating, as of his wont, to his daughter's chamber and sending for the lady, who as yet knew nothing of these things, shut himself up with her and proceeded, with tears in his eyes, to bespeak her thus: 'Ghismonda, meseemed I knew thy virtue and thine honesty, nor might it ever have occurred to my mind, though it were told me, had I not seen it with mine own eyes, that thou wouldst, even so much as in thought, have abandoned thyself to any man, except he were thy husband; wherefore in this scant remnant of life that my eld reserveth unto me, I shall still abide sorrowful, remembering me of this.
— from The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio by Giovanni Boccaccio

Wonderful to relate, I did not lose consciousness as this terrible current shot me like a stick of timber through a flume, whither I knew not, only that the speed and volume went ever on increasing until at last the tumultuous torrent filled the tunnel, and robbed me of light, of breath, of life, of everything, including my faithful and loving Bulger!
— from Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey by Ingersoll Lockwood

They had been speaking of Monkton Verney and not unnaturally Max Hereford, knowing that Christine Greville was a friend but knowing nothing of the true state of affairs, referred to her case.
— from Wayfaring Men: A Novel by Edna Lyall

I am pretty confident that they know nothing of the treasure ship, for instance.
— from The Boy Aviators' Polar Dash; or, Facing Death in the Antarctic by John Henry Goldfrap

But the husband in him knew no obedience to the stern order, and he dived clean off the stern of the steamer into the filthy water and swam, khaki and all, to the steps at the side of the dock.
— from The Relief of Mafeking How it Was Accomplished by Mahon's Flying Column; with an Account of Some Earlier Episodes in the Boer War of 1899-1900 by Filson Young

She never troubled her poor with any of the theories of salvation, which, right or wrong, are not the things to be presented for men's reception—now any more than in the days of the first teachers who knew nothing of them: they serve but to obscure the vision of the live brother in whom men must believe to be lifted out of their evil and brought into the air of truth and the room for growing deliverance.
— from Weighed and Wanting by George MacDonald

We now know not only that the sun's attraction extends to the farthest parts of the solar system, having thus a domain in space nearly thirty times larger than the sphere of Saturn, but we perceive that many among the stars exert a similar force; for around them travel other stars even as the planets travel around the sun.
— from Flowers of the Sky by Richard A. (Richard Anthony) Proctor

If, however, he knew nothing of them, the similarity between the apocalypses and some of Jesus' ideas and expressions becomes all the more significant; for it shows that these writings gave utterance to thoughts and feelings shared by men who never read them, which were, therefore, no isolated fancies, but characteristic of the religion of many of the people.
— from The Life of Jesus of Nazareth: A Study by Rush Rhees

We heard only of von Kluck; nothing of this terrific struggle in Lorraine.
— from My Year of the War Including an Account of Experiences with the Troops in France and the Record of a Visit to the Grand Fleet Which is Here Given for the First Time in its Complete Form by Frederick Palmer

Amelia was taken somewhat at a surprize, but she was too polite to shew much confusion; for, though she knew nothing of the town, she had had a genteel education, and kept the best company the country afforded.
— from Amelia — Volume 2 by Henry Fielding

The news spread rapidly, and the King now on the throne sent Marshal Ney, a former General under Napoleon, to capture him.
— from Boys' Book of Famous Soldiers by J. Walker (Joseph Walker) McSpadden